Surviving the Beastworld

Welcome to the Jungle

Thank you everyone for the support so far! 

Trigger Warning: Violence / Gore (Minor) and Kidnapping (If you don't want to read this, skip to the end. I'll have a chapter summary there.)

Anyway, hope you enjoy<3

"So... wanna explain the whole dragon thing to me?" I asked as we traveled through the jungle forty minutes later, barely able to hide my excitement.

The idea of living in the same world as fantasy creatures like dragons had the fangirl in me squealing with joy. Yeah, I knew beastmen were fantasy beings too, but this is dragons we're talking about here.

Freaking dragons!!!

They're one of my favorite fantasy creatures, along with unicorns, griffins, sirens, centaurs, pegasuses... The list could go on forever.

And because I'm such a fantasy lover, the idea of seeing a creature I loved reading about was literally a dream come true. Almost made my hatred for jungles disappear.

Almost.

"Do you like dragons?" Ahi asked, bringing me back to reality as his grip on me tightened a little.

Didn't take a genius to figure out that Ahi was jealous. It killed my excitement for a moment, making me wonder if we should have this conversation.

But I decided to continue the conversation. I wanted to learn more about dragons in this world, among other things, but if Ahi couldn't control his jealousy when I asked questions, then being mates was never going to work like this.

I didn't like the idea of testing him like this, but in a world where my safety was in the hands of my mates, there was no way I was going to make a mistake. Toxic people had no place in my new life. Simple as that.

"If you're asking if I like them as a mate, then no. If I ever met a dragon and was interested in making them my mate, I'd still go through the same process I did with you and make sure they agree to my conditions." I explained. "The reason I'm asking now is because I've heard a lot of stories about them, but didn't really think they were real. So, I'd like to learn about them from you."

Ahi's grip on my loosen as he let out a sigh of relief, clearly happy with my answer. Seemed he was worried about my interest in dragons.

So, I added, "If I'm ever interested in making anyone my mate, you'll be the first to know. After all, one of my conditions was that I'd get your approval on the matter. So don't get too jealous when I ask questions. I promise you 90% of the time, I'm just curious about something."

"I wasn't-" Ahi started, but my hand went over his mouth.

"Don't lie. Anyone could tell you were a little jealous. It's not anything to be ashamed of if you don't let that jealousy cloud your judgment and hurt me." I said, gazing deep into Ahi's eyes. "Feeling a little jealousy for your mate is a normal thing, but instead of acting out on it, tell me about it. We'll work it out together."

I slowly removed my hand, letting the words sink in.

While it was impossible to ask Ahi or any other future mate not to get jealous at all, I could ask them to tell me about it. We could talk things out and maybe come up with some kind of compromise that wouldn't hurt anyone.

Ahi came to a stop, staring at me for a moment. "Okay..."

I waited for him to say more, but he unexpectedly turned his head away, eyes narrowing on some bushes in the distance. Birds flew away from that spot and Ahi's grip on me tightened once more.